Archinect
RM Architects

RM Architects

Beijing, CN

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Shenhua Group Headquarters

The project is located in the city of Zhuhai Guangdong province. The land is situated in the Southern coast in the Pearl River delta, in front of Macao. The total land area is 60,499 sqm and the planned total GFA is approximately 241,996 smq. The site is facing the sea to the east and surrounded by hills to the west. The project is composed by four distinguished elements making recognizable the main macro functions: headquarter and technical research office building, high ranked hotel building, large scale conference room, commercial mixed use podium. The attempt to create for this new Headquarters a non-invasive image that interacts and communicates with the natural elements that surround it, and that in some way acts as a mirror reflecting these images in an unconventional way. The volume effect “changing” consists of four vertical prismatic elements (the four companies of the group) that break down the mass, is strongly marked and uniquely related to Shenhua, with the inclusion of the logo, in the texture of the facade, composed of sub-modules of the company’s logo. The “brand” of burning coal, which strengthens the conceptual reading of the logo becomes a prismatic element (containing the core of the senior management), bridging across each of the four buildings and symbolizing the four elements of the logo. However, for the accommodation portion, which is devoid of any symbolic elements, it has been created a strong and unusual image that meets the criteria for commercial advertising. The surfaces of macro-perforated material - interpenetrate and “fit” with the windows to dynamically pointing to the sky producing two different images deliberately, the first corresponding to the commercial criteria and the other symbolic in its nature. The two towers, one Headquarters housing offices and research facilities and the other housing the accommodation component, rest on a volume that connects them visually and functionally, giving unity to the whole, as well as defining the unit of the complex. The conference center is located on top of the podium and is treated in a naturalistic manner. The tower for the Headquarters and the one for accommodation are oriented North/South to properly offer split-levels to permit generous views to the Pearl River, to Macao and its beautiful bay.

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: Zhuhai, CN
Firm Role: Chief Architect
Additional Credits: In collaboration with Studio Valle Progettazioni Srl (Rome, Italy)
Client: Shenhua Group Corporation Limited
Project by RM Studio of J.A.O. Design International